Teske

Gemma's Garden

Over a decade ago I had the honor of serving on the board at our local zoo.  I was allowed to plant all the flower beds I wanted as long as I got the materials donated and did the work to maintain them.  There was lots and lots of sunshine and open spaces.  It is a differant style at home.  I have a little cottage by the woods.  I probably have the oldest garden in our group.  The younger one's have all passed me in their ambition, and that is as it should be.  But, I probubly have the best dirt in town after thirty years of shoveling mulch. Things change.  My goal used to be to have fresh cut flowers in the house at all times.  My cats have put a stop to that.  Now 90% of everything I do is about the birds and the bees.  And the butterflies.  And it is working.  I have Hummingbirds in the yard every day,  all summer.  The Monarchs come and lay eggs in the garden.  And the bees. . . .

 Monarch Waystation

 

Last year I registered as a Monarch Waystation.  I have four varieties of Milkweed, more than 10 Milkweed plants and many, many nectaring blossoms.  I use no chemicals in the garden.

flowers

 

 The Monarch Butterflies have two problems.  One is they need more Milkweed for eggs and caterpillars.  The second is they need more blossoms for nectaring in the fall on their journey to Mexico.  My perennial garden starts in the spring with Bleeding Hearts for the Hummingbirds.  Last year I started increasing the fall bloomers to help all those migrating.  I added several Sedum plants.

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The tall flower on the left is Globe Thistle.  Blooms blue midsummer to fall.  Covered with bees and butterflies.  Deep tap root and will spread.  If you want it tidy just pull out seedlings.  Tall Bee Balm is Jacob Cline.  My favorite.  Shorter Bee Balm is Scarlet Cambridge.  It gets powdery mildew in late summer.  I just cut it to the ground when it gets ugly.  Both are covered with Bees and Hummingbirds.  More Sedum down low on left.  Very tall plant in background is Goldenrod.  There are dwarf varieties, but I like tall.  Very important for migrating butterflies.  Does not cause allergies.  Blooms at the same time as Ragweed.  Ragweed is the hay fever maker.  Plant more Goldenrod.  My garden peak color is around July 4.  It is about this time that Hummingbird babies come out of the next and Monarch are visiting in the area more often.

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 Butterfly Bush on the left will keep blooming into fall if you keep it deadheaded.  The Hummingbirds will fight with the Monarchs over it.  Right now I have 6 planted.  In some areas of the country Butterfly Bush is invasive.  That is not a problem here.  Some winters it does not make it.  Good drainage is important to Butterfly Bush.  It sprouts very late so don't give up on it too soon.  On the right is a Mexican Sunflower.  That will bloom late summer and I am told it is a Monarch favorite.  This is my first year growing this annual.  I had to start it from seed as I could not find it in bedding plants anywhere.  Grows to six foot.

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 The tall flowers with skinny leaves is Tropical Milkweed.  I planted it in a pot with the goal of taking it inside to winter it over.  Don't know if that will work as the Monarch catapillars have already eaten it half way to the ground.

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 These pretty orange flowers are the Butterfly Weed.  Some have spread to the neighbor's.  She said they could stay.

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 On the lower left is the Common Milkweed.  Winter hardy in this area it will come back bigger every year.  The bright red blossom is the tropical Milkweed.  It is treated as an annual in our area.  The light purple is an annual Brazilian Verbena.  It is known as Catnip for Butterflys.  That is to help the fall migration.

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 Cinderella Milkweed is annother tall variety.

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 Adding annuals gives more nectaring choices.  Lantana  is a butterfly favorite.  I have no more room in the ground for annuals so they mostly go in pots.  I believe the Monarchs and Hummingbirds prefer to stay off the ground when they can.

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 I had to plant most of my baskets myself as what I wanted did not come in as baskets.  This is Proven Winner Vermillionare.  The Hummingbirds will not leave it alone.  A couple of days after I took this picture half of it was gone.  I think it was a ground hog.  If he does not leave it alone I will have to hang it higher.

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 I planted Candy Corn in a hanging basket this year for the Hummingbirds.  If I had to choose between the two I would say the Hummingbirds at my house visit the Vermillionare more often.

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 Every year I plant at least 3 Gardenmeister in the same spots.  I get them out in early May.  Easy to grow.  I plant mine in pots.  Some years I winter them over.

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 Hummingbirds like Trumpet Vine.  This is a couple of decades old and growing all over the place now.  When I first planted it there were no blooms for years.  I was ready to give up on it and give the space to something that proformed better when it finally bloomed.

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 I like this look.  It seems to remind me of something European.  But that is not the reason for the flowerpots.  I had to line the windowsill with flowerpots to keep the raccoons from climbing up to steal the nectar in the Hummingbird feeder.

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 I got lucky this year.  I wintered over this Shrimp Plant and it started blooming just in time for the Hummingbirds.  The actual flowers are the tiny white blossoms.  They must be very sweet.

 flowers on door

 

 This one is not for the critters.  It is because I like it.  When you find something that works in a spot it is worth repeating.  I had to plant this pouch myself because I could not find just what I wanted.

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 The Hosta, Black & Blue Salvia and Geraniums are for the Hummingbirds.  The Catnip is for my cats.  What looks like grass in the left hand corner is Leriope.  It has little blue flowers in late fall and grows anywhere.  All that and it is evergreen!

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 Four varieties of Hosta bloom at different times.  The plain green is the Hummingbird favorite and visited a lot during fall migration.  Last winter I got tired of so much brown in this area.  I have spent the spring and summer moving Liriope (as seen in lower left corner) to give me more green in the winter.

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 This one is just because I can.  Had to plant it myself as I could not find just what I wanted in a basket.  I used three different varieties of Lobelia.  I am convinced that the only way to grow Lobelia in a basket here is to hang it on the north side against a building.  Then it gets morning sun and shade the rest of the day.  Newer varieties do take the heat better.

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 Every year I put a Hibiscus tree on the front porch.  I hang a small Hummingbird feeder from it.  The Hummingbirds come to the front door and eat from the feeder and the blossoms.  I have five feeders right now and I use Best-1 nectar.

 

Monarch This Monarch ate at Butterfly Bush, Mexican Sunflower and Lysmachia.  I did not see her laying any eggs, but there are many eggs in the garden.